Sunday, January 29, 2017

Crochet Coral Reef exhibit at MAD in New York - traveling to Santa Cruz

A haul of garbage from the sea.

On a recent trip to New York City, I saw the exhibit at the Museum of Art and Design, which has since closed and is on its way the UC Santa Cruz. I took pictures of a number of the pieces, some of which are in this post.

At the entrance is a haul of garbage, thankfully cleaned off.

When coral is white, it has been bleached and is dead.

The bleached pieces are striking, but you have to remember that the white ones represent the dead coral. It's not a good thing, no matter how elegant it looks.

A number of pieces are wildly colorful, with all kinds of shapes. A trip to the aquarium reminds me that these pieces aren't that far from reality!

There is a Muppet/Dr. Suess quality to much of the exhibit. But then, reality is like that, sometimes.

Each case included a plaque with the names of the people who made the pieces, along with where they came from.

The show is meticulous in giving credit to the artists/artisans who made the individual pieces. Each installation can include pieces by many people, from around the world.

Small groups of pieces allow the viewer to focus on the

techniques used, which include beading, netting, knitting,

macrame, and mixed media assemblies in addition to the focus

on crochet.

It was calming, too, to see a piece where the elements were all similar, like this one:

I was surprised that there were no souvenirs to buy. I would have been happy to buy a hook commemorating the exhibit/gallery. But I guess that just makes me a consumer. Oh dear.